David Axelrod

David M. Axelrod ( born February 22, 1955 in New York City ) is an American political consultant ( Spin Doctor). He was known primarily as a senior campaign manager for Democratic politician Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential election. Since his election as U.S. president, he served until early 2011 as one of Obama's chief advisers (Senior Advisor) in the White House.

Life

David Axelrod was born in 1955 as the son of a Jewish couple in Manhattan. The father was a psychologist, his mother worked as a journalist for a left-wing newspaper. When he was eight years old, the parents separated. Axelrod grew up in Stuyvesant Town Manhattan district and visited the local Stuyvesant High School. He then studied political science at the University of Chicago. At the University, from which he graduated in 1977, Axelrod learned his future wife Susan Landau, whom he married in 1979.

Axelrod began as a teenager for policy to be interested and politically to act on a small scale: in 1968 he distributed campaign stickers for the Democrats Robert F. Kennedy. As a student, Axelrod began to write as a political editor for the Hyde Park Herald. After graduating in 1977 he found a permanent job at the Chicago Tribune, for which he had also been occasionally supplied as a student contributions. In 1982, Axelrod the management of the local political department at the Tribune. He also received at this time own political column in the newspaper. 1984 Axelrod was first worked as a professional political consultant: This year, he joined the campaign team of Senator Paul M. Simon, in which he first acted as communications director. After only eight weeks in this capacity, he was promoted to co-manager of the campaign team.

Axelrod & Associates

In 1985, Axelrod 's political consulting firm Axelrod & Associates. In 1987, he successfully led the re-election campaign for Chicago's current mayor, Harold Washington, the first African American who exercised this office. With the election victory of Washington succeeded Axelrod, to secure a reputation as a specialist in the management of hard campaigning. In particular, he was an expert in it, African-American politicians - often even as " unwählbare " were considered exotic at the time - to present the white population as a serious candidate for public office. This reputation strengthened Axelrod in the following years, he helped by other African Americans to leap into the office of mayor of major U.S. metropolitan areas: So he led the successful election campaigns of Dennis Archer (Detroit ), Michael R. White ( Cleveland), Anthony A. Williams (Washington DC), Lee P. Brown (Houston ) and John Street ( Philadelphia ). The city of Chicago remained Axelrod as a political strategy advisor to the longtime mayor of the city, Richard M. Daley, joined.

1992 Axelrod met in Chicago Barack Obama know, which was presented to him by Betty Lu Saltzman, after Obama was her noticed by his commitment to convince African American thereof, to be registered on the electoral register of the city.

2004 Axelrod worked for the campaign team of the candidate for the Democratic nomination as a candidate for the office of U.S. President, John Edwards. 2006 Axelrod was the Democratic candidate for the office of Governor of the State of New York, participated in the election campaign of Eliot Spitzer.

Obama's advisers

In 2007, Axelrod directing the application campaign of the senator from Illinois, Barack Obama to the nomination as a candidate of the Democratic Party in the presidential elections of 2008. Misgivings about involvement in Obama's campaign, which had Axelrod, as several of Obama's rivals for the nomination ( Hillary Clinton, Chris Dodd and John Edwards) were former clients of him, he pushed aside eventually. At Clinton, he was also privately in a friendly relationship, since this is the promotion founded by Axelrod's wife Foundation Citizens United for Research in Epilepsy, dedicated to the fight against epilepsy dedicated ( Axelrod's daughter suffers from this disease ) in the 1990s, trying had. Officially founded Axelrod his decision by saying that he was convinced of the historical significance that would have an election of Obama, and because he was convinced that if elected Obama to be able to look back one day and said that he had done something great. Great success was Obama during the campaign achieved in particular by the fact that he his application under - developed among others by Axelrod - slogan " Change" presented, which proved to be extremely effective mass. Furthermore, the campaign team initiated a so-called grass -roots movement that aimed to make the campaign coffers of Obama's application campaign by the financial support of a broad movement fill out small donors, rather than ( as is traditional in U.S. election campaigns ) on the support of a few especially financially strong to put major donors. In addition to the strategy of the campaign proved successful, especially to advertise in the Democratic primary fight for those votes that have been awarded under the so-called caucus model. In particular, Hillary Clinton, Obama's successful a contestant, failed Axelrod's assessment indicates criminal to use their resources to produce these voices.

After Obama's victory in the internal party primaries Axelrod took over the leadership of the Obama campaign for the elections on November 4, 2008.

In the case of Reverend Wright Obama followed his own convictions and not the opinion of his campaign team.

" And when the statements of his pastor, Reverend Wright, were publicly that he wanted to say something he had probably long to say. His whole team, especially David Axelrod, advised him against it. Obama sat in this point about the opinion of his team away. He wanted the Americans to say something about race that had matured in his head. Under great pressure, which was built, it was one of his best speeches. "

Axelrod's successor as chief White House counsel is David Plouffe.